Attorney wants to get Walmart in court over proposed store near Civil War battlefield

New York City An attorney seeking to block a Walmart Supercenter near a Civil War battlefield wants to get the retailer into a courtroom, the Associated Press reported.

The 138,000-sq.-ft. store would be built in Locust Grove, near Civil War battlegrounds where 180,000 soldiers fought and 26,000 were killed.

A judge ruled last week that a preservation group and residents who live near the Wilderness Battlefield in northern Virginia can challenge Orange County's approval of the store last August.

While Wal-Mart Stores was not a party to that legal challenge, an attorney representing the plaintiffs wants to add the retailer as a defendant in the trial. Robert Rosenbaum filed a motion with Orange County Circuit Court on Thursday. He also wants to add the developer and property owner as defendants.

On April 30, Circuit Court Judge Daniel R. Bouton rejected a bid by Orange County to dismiss the challenge, sending it to trial. His decision revived the effort to protect the battlefield. More than 250 historians, Civil War preservationists and celebrities have taken a stand against the store.

Walmart and its supporters have said the store would be in a commercial zone that's already crowded with small retail outlets, and it would provide tax revenues and jobs in this rural county of approximately 15,000.